Girl Meets Sickness: The Sequel
by CollegeSenior18
Summary: Maya gets sick again, but this time she has to be hospitalized. How will the Matthews and Maya react? How will her friends and her mother react?
1. Chapter 1

_Hey y'all! So many of you asked for a sequel where Maya gets hospitalized and the Matthews take care of her so here it is! This is coming out later than I expected because I had a trip, but I plan on posting a part everyday (Parts 3 & 4 might get posted the same day if I feel like it because they're quite short). Anyways, I don't own Girl Meets World, it's characters or anything else. Hope you enjoy the story!_

It was a normal Wednesday morning in the Hart household. Maya woke up to another empty house and got ready for school as usual. It had been a few months since the Matthews' had found out about her home environment and they had all become fiercely protective of her. Even Auggie treated her like his sister. She was able to get help with her homework, have a real dinner every night, and even got to experience other family moments such as family game night. Cory and Topanga fussed over her constantly just like she was their own daughter.

Maya felt a bit off this morning. Not bad per say, but off. There was a dull ache in her stomach, but she brushed it off as her being hungry and headed down to the Matthews' apartment.

"Morning, Maya!" The Matthews' chorused as Riley opened the door.

"Good morning." Maya smiled as she made her way over to the breakfast table. "Ooh pancakes! Are we celebrating anything?"

"Nope! Just thought I'd make something special since I have this week off from work." Topanga grinned as she placed a big plate of pancakes on the table for everyone to eat.

Maya loaded her pancakes up with chocolate chips and syrup and poured herself a tall glass of milk. She only got halfway through when she realized that her stomach ache hadn't abated, in fact, it had gotten worse, so she knew that hunger was not the cause of it.

Maya pushed her plate away.

"Maya, you okay?" Cory asked.

Maya nodded. "Yeah, just grabbed too much is all." The Matthews seemed to believe it, and continued eating their food.

It didn't take long before Riley was finished and they were headed out the door to the subway. Riley was talking a mile a minute about Lucas and Maya could barely keep up. So she just listened and nodded her head every few minutes. She wrapped her arms around her stomach hoping that the pressure would help relieve some of the pain, but it didn't. By time they got to school Maya knew she was going to puke. Her stomach was churning and she knew it would be better to puke now than to wait until she was in class.

"Maya? Hello? Earth to Maya?" Riley tapped the side of her best friend's head lightly to get her attention.

"What? Sorry, zoned out for a minute." Maya replied softly.

"You okay? I was just asking if you needed any help studying tonight?" Riley examined her friend's face. She seemed a little pale, but otherwise fine.

"No, I'm good. I'm going to go to the restroom before class, so why don't you go get our seats?" Maya tried to think of a better excuse so Riley wouldn't follow her, but that was all she could think of with her stomach doing somersaults

Luckily, Riley bought her excuse and she ran down the hall to the bathroom. Thankful to find the bathroom empty, she ducked into one of the stalls, tied her hair back, and knelt in front of the toilet. It didn't take long before she threw up this morning's pancakes. By time she had finished she felt clammy and shaky so she stayed knelt on the ground for a few moments before standing up and flushing the toilet.

The bell rang, causing Maya to groan. Now she was late and Mr. Matthews' would probably start getting worried about where she was. She washed her hands and face and took a detour to the office and grabbed a handful of peppermints while no one was watching her. She stuck one in her mouth as she walked to Mr. Matthews' class.

"Glad you could join us, Miss Hart." Cory greeted.

Maya blushed and took her seat. Riley immediately grabbed Maya's arm and pulled her towards her. "What took you so long?"

"Stopped by the office for some of these." Maya held out her stash of peppermints, causing Riley to roll her eyes.

Mr. Matthews kept teaching and Maya shut her eyes tightly as the dull ache in her stomach started to become sharper. She knew she wasn't going to hold out much longer so she raised her hand and asked if she could go to the restroom.

Mr. Matthews gave her a funny look. Why would she need to go to the restroom again? It hasn't even been an hour? He went ahead and dismissed her with a warning to hurry back. She nodded and walked out of the classroom and past the class' windows before bolting down the hallway to the girls restrooms. Three girls walked out just as she was walking in, leaving the bathroom clear.

She knelt down just in time for her stomach to empty the last of its contents. She knew she didn't have as much time as last time, or Mr. Matthews' would send Riley in here looking for her. She got up and quickly washed her face and hands again, making sure to stick another peppermint in her mouth, and headed back to class.

"Maya, you okay?" Mr. Matthews' watched her take her seat, concerned.

"Fine." Was all Maya could manage as she sat back down.


	2. Chapter 2

_Guest 4 & Guest you are right in your assumptions I couldn't bear giving her anything too terrible. Here's part 2, it's kind of short, so let me know if any of y'all want me to combine parts 3 & 4, post both parts 3 & 4 separately just in one day, or just post them on different days! As always, I don't own Girl Meets World, Disney, it's characters or anything else mentioned. Enjoy the update!_

The rest of the school day passed slowly for Maya. She tried to sleep in all her other classes, except for her frequent trips to the restroom. She knew it was a good thing she normally slept in class, otherwise Riley would get suspicious.

They rode the subway together as usual, but Maya started getting really queasy halfway through the ride. She took deep breathes and closed her eyes.

"You alright, Maya?"

"Yeah, fine, just umm, practicing my meditation skills." Maya lied.

"Ooo! Let me try!" Riley closed her eyes and took deep breathes like Maya was doing until they got to their stop.

Thankfully, the feeling to puke passed after they got off the subway and walked to the apartment complex.

"I'm going to, uh, work on my homework. I'll see you later, Riles."

"You sure you don't want to come over and get some help? I heard the math homework was pretty brutal." Riley could tell something was bothering Maya so she thought if she came over she could help her.

"Nah, I'm fine. Go text Lucas, he's probably wondering about you." Maya smiled.

"Okay, well see you soon!" Riley waved off her best friend and as soon as Maya stepped inside her house and safely closed the door, she bolted to the bathroom. There was nothing left to throw up, so she was stuck with painful dry heaves that only brought up a little bit of bile.

Maya shivered and lay her forehead on the cool porcelain toilet bowl. Knowing that she was finished for now, she changed out of her sweat soaked clothes and into some dry & warm flannel pajamas. She brushed her teeth and washed her face which she had been longing to do all day, before climbing into bed. She bundled herself up and tried to go to sleep. She knew she probably had a 24hr bug so she thought if she fell asleep, she'd feel much better in the morning.

Riley, meanwhile had finished her homework and frowned when she realized Maya hadn't text or called her yet.

"Riley, dinner time!" Riley's mom called to her.

"Coming!" Riley headed to the table still trying to text and call Maya.

"Is Maya coming? Tell her I made spaghetti if that's who you're texting." Topanga said as she fixed Auggie's plate for him.

"She's not answering my calls or texts." Riley frowned.

"She seemed tired in class, maybe she's just asleep?" Cory pointed out.

Riley sighed. "Yeah. That's probably it."

They ate dinner quietly. It felt awkward without Maya there. They were used to her jokes and teaching Auggie how to burp on command.

Riley continued to call & text Maya that night until she gave up, deciding that she'd just see Maya tomorrow.

In the apartment upstairs, Maya slept fitfully. She woke up several times in the night to run to the bathroom, throwing up, and she felt worse than she had ever felt before. It was 6:30 in the morning when she finally fell asleep in her bed.


	3. Chapter 3 & 4

_Thanks for all the reviews! Most of y'all voted for me to post 3 & 4 together so that's what I'm going to do! I figured I'll post it now before I go get my cavity filled at the Dentist.. (Jaws music plays ominously because I have a phobia of dentists pretty much) Anyways I don't own Girl Meets World, it's characters, Disney, or anything else mentioned in the story! Enjoy the update!_

The first thing Riley did when she woke up was call Maya. She didn't answer. Riley texted her as she got ready and still got no answers.

7am rolled around and Maya still hadn't called, texted, or rang her doorbell.

"I'm really worried about Maya." Riley announced to her family at the breakfast table. "She hasn't answered any of my calls or texts and she's not here yet. I think something maybe wrong."

Topanga and Cory exchanged nervous looks. Those two were constantly calling and texting each other and Maya wouldn't still be asleep.

"If it would make you feel better, why don't you go check on her before school?" Cory said as he put his plate in the sink and gave everyone goodbye kisses.

Riley nodded. She grabbed her backpack and took the elevator up to Maya's floor. She knocked on the door and no one answered. She knew she shouldn't, but she twisted the doorknob and found the door unlocked.

"Maya?" Maya?" Riley called out as she looked around the seemingly empty apartment. She opened the door to Maya's room and gasped at the sight. Maya was still in bed asleep and you could see her shivering underneath a huge pile of blankets.

Riley called the first person she could think of. Her dad.

Cory glanced down at his ringing phone and saw that it was his daughter calling. Why would she be calling? He just left the apartment. "You okay, Riley?"

"I'm fine, it's Maya, I think she's really sick." Riley sounded like she was on the verge of tears.

Hearing his daughter's frightened voice, he knew it must be bad and he took off back into the apartment complex. "Riley, feel her forehead and tell me if she feels warm to you."

Riley went over and gently placed a hand on Maya's forehead. She hissed as she pulled back her hand. "She feels like she's on fire, dad!"

"Okay, your mom and I will be there in a second." Cory hung up the phone and then dialed their home number. He told Topanga to see if one of their neighbors could take Auggie to school and then to meet him at Maya's apartment.

Cory walked in and hollered out, "Riley? Maya?"

"In here, dad!" Riley called from the back bedroom. He found Riley hovering over Maya, unsure of what to do to help her.

"Riley, back away some, please." Cory walked over and placed his hand on Maya's burning forehead. "Crap, she's really burning up." Cory tried to shake Maya awake, but she wasn't waking. Panicking, he felt for a pulse and was relieved when he found one.

Topanga had rushed in as he was feeling for a pulse. "Topi, stay here with Maya and Riley. I'm going to go look for a thermometer, she's burning up."

Cory headed to the bathroom beside Maya's room. He recoiled slightly as the stench of puke his his nose. Poor Maya. He thought. She shouldn't have had to suffer alone. He dug around in the drawers until he found an ear thermometer. Perfect. He headed back into the room and stuck the cool metal tip in Maya's ear, waiting for the beep.

His worry grew deeper when the thermometer beeped and flashed the numbers "103.4"

He knew all the blankets weren't helping her fever in the slightest, so he ripped them all off of her. Maya shivered.

"Cory! Why did you do that? She's obviously freezing!" Topanga rubbed Maya's shivering back, hoping to calm her down some.

"No, she's burning. Look." He showed her the thermometer. Knowing, that a simple stomach bug wouldn't cause a fever this high, and that she wasn't getting better like she should after a bug he thought about what it could be. Only one answer came to his mind and he didn't like it in the slightest. Appendicitis. He turned Maya so that she was lying flat on her back and then pressed on the lower right part of her abdomen.

"Owwww!" Maya whined and curled back up into a shivering ball, not even opening her eyes.

Topanga gave Cory a worried look. "We gotta get her to the hospital!" She exclaimed.

"Hospital?" Riley shouted.

"Yeah, she needs surgery. It'll be fine though, we just have to go, right now." Cory replied as comfortingly as he could. He bundled Maya up in a blanket. "I'll meet you at the hospital. Call the school for me and tell them I won't be there."

Topanga nodded and told Riley to pack a bag of pajamas, sweats, and other things Maya might want while at the hospital, while she called the school. They had to take the subway to the hospital, which was fine because it gave Topanga time to try and get a hold of Maya's mom. She wasn't answering. She knew Maya's mom had to sign off on the hospital admittance forms and it was making her nervous that her mom wasn't answering.

They made it to the hospital and were directed to a back room where they found Cory pacing the floor beside Maya's bed. She was sleeping fitfully, the only things the nurses could do for her without the signed form was put a cool washcloth on her forehead.

"The doctor said it's definitely her appendix. They need some forms signed to confirm and operate, but if you can't get Maya's mom to sign all of these forms, because it's a lot, then get her to sign this form." Cory held out a smaller form. "If she signs this then we can sign off on her treatment and make medical decisions for her as her guardians." Topanga took the forms and left the hospital, knowing the only way to get to Maya's mom was to go see her at the diner.

The diner was called "New Yorkers 24hr Diner" and it was located on 5th street, near the hospital. She walked in to the slightly run down restaurant and went straight to the counter. "Hi, is Ms. Hart here?"

"She's in the back. It's her break." The lady working the counter chewed loudly on her gum.

Topanga smiled politely, but her voice showed that she was a little irritated, " Can you go get her? Her daughter's in the hospital." That caused the lady to go get Ms. Hart, she knew it was probably something serious if someone was here about it.

"Topanga? What are you doing here?" Ms. Hart asked, surprised to see her daughter's best friend's mom here.

"My daughter found Maya sick in bed and we took her to the hospital-"

"Oh, she doesn't need a hospital. It's probably just one of those bugs kids get every now and then. Now if you'll excuse me-"

"No! Listen you're daughter has appendicitis. They need to operate on her immediately or she could die. So can you just sign these forms?" Topanga held out the stack of papers.

"Look, I don't have time for all this. Maybe when I get off tonight I will."

"Well, here. At least sign this one." Topanga held out the single sheet of paper. "If you sign it, it will allow Cory and I to make medical decisions for her in emergency situations when you can't be reached or you're too busy. Cory and I will sign all the forms for her if you let us."

"Fine, but I don't have insurance and I'm not paying for this stupid operation with my hard earned money. She's probably just faking it anyways."

Topanga was taken aback. Did Maya's mom really feel that way about her own daughter? "Please just sign the form, here's the pen." Topanga handed her the pen and allowed her to sign. "Thank you, I have to be going now." Topanga gathered up the papers and quickly walked back to the hospital and showed Cory the signed form.

"Great!" He said. Cory and Topanga split up the treatment forms and each signed them before handing them back to the doctor so they could start treatment.

The stuck an IV drip of morphine and saline solution to her, so that she would hopefully get rehydrated and not be in so much pain. Once the treatment started working, they prepped her for surgery and whisked her down to the OR.


	4. Chapter 5

_Sorry guys, late update tonight. Had to go shopping for church/ school clothes. I got a little black dress? Like when the heck did I get old enough for one of those?! Oh well, I guess the start of college is the time to get one. I don't own Girl Meets World, its characters, Disney or anything else. Enjoy the update! P.S. What did you think of tonight's new episode 'cause I loved it as always :)_

Riley was on the verge of tears. Her best friend was about to have surgery! What if something went wrong? What if she died?" Tears started streaming down her face.

Cory and Topanga spotted Riley crying and went over and gave her a hug.

"Shh, she's going to be okay." Cory rubbed her back soothingly.

"But what if she's not?" Riley cried.

"Do you honestly think a little surgery is going to take down Maya? She's a fighter, she always has been & this surgery is so simple and routine it's done a hundred times a day. She'll be just fine." Topanga reassured her distraught daughter.

"Here, why don't you go call your friends and tell them what happened, they're at lunch, right? And here's $40. Why don't you go pick something out of the gift shop for her?" Cory handed her the money and let her go so that he and Topanga could talk.

"So obviously Ms. Hart didn't sign the forms, so what did she say?" Cory wrapped his arm around his wife who looked close to tears.

"She thought Maya was faking!" Tears started to leak out from her eyes. "And then she said that she worked hard for her money and wasn't going to spend it on some stupid surgery for Maya. Who talks about their daughter like that?"

Cory ran his hand soothingly up and down his wife's back. "Shh, we'll figure this out. If Maya's mom won't watch out for her, we will. We have permission to get Maya any medical help she needs and we can put her under our insurance."

Topanga lied her head down on Cory's shoulder and allowed him to wipe away the remainder of her tears. "We have to be strong. Maya's counting on us and if Riley walks in and finds us crying she's going to panic and think something went wrong with Maya's surgery."

The stayed in that position for a while. With Topanga's head on Cory's shoulder and Cory's arms wrapped around her, until they heard small footsteps approaching the room. They looked up to see Riley carrying a soft, medium sized teddy bear, a "Get well soon!" balloon with smiley faces on it, a get well card, and three bottles of water." She had spent almost all of the money, but handed her dad back about $5 in change which was half of what was left. She knew Auggie would probably want to pick out something when he came so he kept it for him. She set everything on the table beside where the bed used to be before Maya was taken to surgery, and not finding anywhere to sit, sat on her dad's lap.

"I texted Lucas and Farkle. They said they'd head over as soon as school ends." Riley leaned back against her dad and closed her eyes.

"You doing okay, sweetie?" Topanga asked as she placed a hand on her daughter's arm and rubbed it gently.

Riley just nodded. She was exhausted from all the adrenaline and emotion that had been coursing through her today.

"Why don't you take a nap and we'll wake you when Maya's out of surgery?" Topanga suggested.

Riley just nodded in response as she was already falling asleep.


	5. Chapter 6

_Hey y'all! Tomorrow's update should be the last part! I really hope this inspires some of y'all to write more Maya (or Riley) sick fanfictions because sick fics are my weakness haha and they're arent many for this fandom yet. As always I don't own Girl Meets World, its characters, Disney, or anything else mentioned in this story. Enjoy! :D_

Riley woke up about an hour later to the swishing of the room's doors being opened. The doctor walked in as she was rubbing the sleep from her eyes. "How's Maya doing?" She asked.

"She's doing fine. She's almost out of recovery and we're going to wheel her back here soon. Her appendix had ruptured, causing the infection to spread-"

Riley gasped and almost started crying again, but the doctor interrupted her. "But we treated the infection with some antibiotics and she's doing fine. You should be able to take her home by tomorrow night or early the following day at the latest."

No sooner had the doctor delivered the news and left the room had Maya been wheeled back in, sleeping peacefully in the hospital bed. While she slept, Riley left to go pick up Auggie from school and meet her friends by the subway, where they would all ride back to the hospital together.

The ride back to the hospital was practically silent. Nobody knew what to say to each other. They were all worried about Maya. Even Lucas was worried & he was constantly ridiculed by Maya.

"So how's she doing?" Lucas asked awkwardly.

"Good. Well as good as can be expected. She hasn't woken up yet, but the doctors got her appendix out and gave her medicine for the infection." Riley replied.

"Can we stop by the gift shop? I need to get a present for my love." Farkle smiled enthusiastically.

Riley nodded as the train pulled into the station. She grabbed Auggie's hand so he wouldn't get lost in the crowded streets and led the way to the hospital. They made their way to the gift shop and they looked around for a bit. Farkle picked up a few solid colored balloons and Lucas picked up a pretty bouquet of carnations that came in a plastic vase.

Auggie tugged on Riley's arm.

"Yes?" She asked.

"Can I pick out something too?" He smiled sweetly.

"Sure, go ahead."

He came back with a coloring book and crayons for Maya since he knew she liked to draw. They all paid for their order and headed up the elevator. They stopped when they saw the room, as Maya was just waking up.

Maya woke up to find Topanga and Cory both sitting in chairs beside her bed watching her in concern.

"How ya feeling, sweetie?" Mrs. Matthews reached out and stroked her blonde hair soothingly.

"You gave all of us quite a scare." Mr. Matthews told her as he reached out and patted her arm.

Maya finally summoned up the strength to talk and croaked out, "Where am I? Am I in a hospital?"

Cory and Topanga nodded. "Why am I here? How did I get here? Where is-"

"Woah, woah, woah! Slow down, you just had some major surgery. You need to take it easy." Topanga smiled.

"Surgery?" Maya asked curiously. She didn't remember anything except having an awful stomach bug yesterday. Was it yesterday? How long was I out for? She wondered.

"Your appendix ruptured. You probably thought you just had a stomach bug, but that wasn't the case. When you didn't answer any of Riley's calls or texts she got really worried and she went over to check on you before school. She found you burning up and unconscious and called us. After we checked you out it became clear that it was probably appendicitis and that we should take you to the hospital." Cory explained.

"Don't your parents have to sign off on hospital stuff?" Maya asked.

Cory and Topanga shared a sad glance. "I went to see your mom and she wouldn't sign off on the forms, but she signed off on one that allows us to make medical decisions for you now on." Topanga explained.

Maya looked shocked. "My mom's not going to be able to afford this. She doesn't have insurance and-"

"We've got it covered." Cory smiled.

"But I'm not your kid & this was probably a really expensive surgery!" Maya weakly exclaimed.

"Shh, you are as much our kid as Riley and Auggie are. Just because we didn't give birth to you, doesn't mean we don't love you too." Topanga told her.

Maya's eyes started to well up with tears which caused Cory and Topanga to worry that she was in pain. "Are you okay? Does your stomach hurt?" They asked almost in unison. Their concern caused the tears to run down Maya's face as she shook her head no.

She sniffled. "No, it's just a little sore. That's the nicest thing anyone's ever told me."

Cory and Topanga smiled at each other and then gently gave her a big hug and wiped away her tears.

"Now, if you're feeling up to it, I think you have some visitors." Cory grinned and ran over to open the door for the kids. Lucas and Farkle put their gifts on the table beside Riley's, but Auggie hopped up on the bed beside her.

"Auggie, be careful! Maya doesn't feel well." Topanga lightly reprimanded.

"Okay!" Auggie smiled and handed Maya the coloring book and crayons. "Look! I got you a coloring book because I know you draw good and like to color. So now we can color together!"

Everyone smiled at Auggie's gift and Maya glanced over to the table loaded with gifts. "These are all for me?" Maya looked kind of surprised that she got gifts just for being in the hospital.

"Of course they are silly! Who else would they be for?" Riley answered.

"Who got me the bear?"

"I did. I remembered how when we were little you always loved my stuffed bear, and you said you never had one. I thought it might make you feel better." Riley explained.

Tears started to leak from Maya's eyes once again and Riley went over and hugged her. Everyone else followed suit and they shared a long group hug until the nurse walked in.

"I need to check your vitals and your stitches. Can some of you please clear out?" The nurse asked. Farkle, Auggie, and Lucas went outside the room.

"I'm not leaving." Riley announced.

The nurse stuck a thermometer in Maya's mouth and checked her stitches while she was waiting on the thermometer to beep.

"Fever's down to 100.5 and her stitches look good." The nurse finished checking the rest of Maya's vitals. "Everything looks good. She should be able to leave tomorrow night."

Cory and Topanga kissed the top of Maya's head. "You should probably get some sleep." Cory suggested.

Maya nodded and Riley let Farkle, Lucas, and Auggie back into the room.

"I better get going, momma's gonna wonder where I am. Feel better soon, Maya." Lucas waved goodbye and left.

"I gotta go too, my love. Feel better!" Farkle ran over and kissed Maya on the lips since she couldn't move away. Maya picked up her pillow and hurled it at him, hitting him square in the head, which caused quite the laugh from all of the Matthews.

Farkle left and Maya asked for her pillow back. Topanga did one better and brought her a new pillow before helping Maya lie the bed down into a more comfortable position.

"You guys don't have to stay here. I know you'd rather be at home." Maya looked down.

"We're staying right here!" Riley told her.

"Yeah. You can't get rid of us that easily! Besides I got a sub for the rest of the week, so now I get to take it easy." Cory chimed in.

"You took a whole week off work for me?" Maya asked. She sounded astounded at the thought of someone taking time off to care for her.

"Of course we did." Topanga replied as she stroked Maya's hair comfortingly. "Now get some sleep. If you don't get better they'll make you stay here and eat hospital food even longer." Topanga smirked.

Maya quickly went to sleep. She loved this new found attention from what she referred to as her "adoptive" family.


	6. Chapter 7

_Hey y'all! I'm so so so sorry I haven't updated in a while. And I'm sorry this part is pretty short 'cause it's the ending. I've been gathering/packing/saying goodbye/ etc. because I move into my college dorm Wednesday. I left a few days ago though because my college is quite far from home. So anyways, that's not an excuse. I've gotten several reviews wanting another sickness story so my question is, do you want another sick Maya? Or would you rather have a sick Riley? Or have both of them sick? Also, I have another story I'm writing before that one and it will probably be a while before either get posted, because of my first year of college about to start and me having to get adjusted to life on my own. Anyways here's the concluding part. I don't own Girl Meets World, it's characters, Disney, or anything else mentioned. _

She woke up late the next morning when a nurse came in to take her vitals. Even though they said they would be here, Maya was still surprised to see the whole Matthews clan sitting beside her, waiting for her to wake up. The nurse said everything looked normal, but she said they were going to start weaning her off the pain medication later today which could cause an array of symptoms, including a fever, nausea and chills.

Maya just shrugged it off and said okay, while Cory and Topanga bombarded the nurse with questions on how to best treat the side effects, what to look for an infection, and other things they might need to know about taking care of a post-op preteen. Maya was impressed with their concern to say the least.

Cory and Topanga signed Maya's discharge papers around 3pm and they were out of the hospital and back in their apartment by 6.

Cory, Topanga, and Riley helped get Maya settled in Riley's bed, with Riley on the floor beside her in case Maya needed anything. Maya fell back asleep almost immediately after getting settled. The trip from the hospital having exhausted her.

Topanga, Riley, and Cory entered her room almost two hours later with a tray of food and medicine. She was still asleep so Riley went over and gently shook her awake.

"Maya, wake up. We made your favorite! Homemade chicken noodle soup with apple juice!" Riley smiled as Maya's eyes popped open in excitement.

"Let me take your temperature first Maya. The nurse said you might run a small fever after they take you off the medicine but if it's over 102 we have to take you back because you might have an infection."

Maya nodded, not in the mood to argue against Mrs. Matthews since she knew she'd lose anyways, and opened her mouth. Mrs. Matthews stuck the thermometer in and took it out after the beep. "100.9, okay, here's your pain medicine and here's something for the fever." Mrs. Matthews held out the pills and the glass of apple juice.

Maya swallowed the pills and drank almost half of the glass before starting in on her soup. "This is so good!" Maya complimented.

"Thanks, Maya. At least someone appreciates my cooking." Topanga grinned.

"Maya," Cory interrupted. "I know your mom isn't home very often, so whenever you feel like staying over you just come right over. We've been thinking of getting Riley a new bed, and she really wants a bunk bed, so now you'll both have beds and you can sleepover whenever you want."

Riley squealed in excitement. She was finally getting bunk beds! Then she thought about what her dad just told them, "Wait, even on school nights?"

Cory nodded yes and covered his ears as his daughter let out another excited squeal. Riley went over and gave Maya a hug. "Now we really will be like sisters!"

They all left Maya after she finished eating, to let her get some more rest and to allow Maya some time to think things over. She always thought nobody cared for her and that she didn't have a place where she belonged, no matter how many times the Matthews told her different, but these past few days let Maya know exactly how much the Matthews cared for her. They treated her like family. They payed for her medical bills! They even got her a bed! She fell asleep knowing no matter what happened with her real mom and dad and no matter how uncared for she felt at her real house, she'd always have somewhere to go


End file.
